About Me

Elizabeth Stark

I am first a reader, then a writer, editor, teacher and coach. I bring my passion for reading to the work I do with writers, serving the strongest vision of the writing itself. I love my job! Somehow I draw the most fascinating, talented, insightful group of people into my ongoing conversation about storytelling and the world.

Currently, I live in Berkeley, California. (Actually, I grew up here, too, but in between I have lived in New York City and upstate as well as Santa Cruz and San Francisco, and I have traveled to Israel, China, Europe, Canada and Mexico. Am I trying to say that I am not entirely provincial?) I have a spouse named Angie and two toddlers, Leo and Charlie.

What else? Schools: Attended Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. Dropped out of Berkeley High School. BA from UCSC in Women’s Studies (1990). MFA in Writing from Columbia University’s School of the Arts (1996).

Served as a reader and editor at Columbia Magazine and, under George Plimpton, at The Paris Review,taught creative writing at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Pratt Institute, the Creative Project Institute, and UC Santa Cruz, and have read and performed across the country. I belong to Word of Mouth Bay Area, a coalition of women writers who’ve published at least one book.

Currently, I offer private coaching and editing for writers, online and telephone community and craft discussions, and–from September through March–a book writing cycle, start to finish.